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Arlen (King of the Hill)

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Arlen, Texas
Fictional Town
Town of Arlen
Motto: 
"Someplace Special"
CountryUnited StatesUnited States
StateTexasTexas
CountyHeimlich County
Population
 • Total11,454

Arlen, Texas is a fictional town in the state of Texas where the television show King of the Hill takes place. It has a population of 11,454.

Location

Arlen is located in the fictional Heimlich County. The town's slogan is "Someplace Special." While Dallas and Houston are featured in numerous episodes as big-city destinations, the nearest large Texas city seems to be Austin, as a number of Arlen's high school football games are played against cities like Belton and Killeen which are both just over an hour north of Austin. However, it is never revealed in the show where Arlen is specifically located. Dallas is also well-known for its many exurbs, the definition of which fits Arlen. In a recent interview, creator Mike Judge has cited Richardson, a Dallas suburb, as the specific inspiration for Arlen.[1] In episode 29, "Hank's Dirty Laundry," address labels are printed which state that Arlen's ZIP code is 78701 which is in use in Austin. In episode 190 Arlen's original name of "Harlottown" is revealed. In the Episode "Après Hank, le Deluge," a flash flood threatens Heimlich County, it is mentioned that Travis County is already under a flash flood warning, implying that Heimlich County is near Travis County, further reinforcing the theory that Arlen is a suburb of Austin, as Austin is in Travis County. A road sign with the text "Welcome to Arlen Texas" states that the population is 145,300 and that the area is 8,793.

Educational Institutions

Colleges

  • Arlen Community College, Luanne attends it after dropping out of beauty school

Public Education
Arlen Independent School District (called Heimlich County School District in earlier episodes)

Media

The town's main newspaper is the Arlen Bystander, as referred to in episode "Bystand Me". Another newspaper, The Arlen Advocate, is mentioned in the episode "My Hair Lady."

Channel 84 is the main Television Station, where Nancy Gribble is first a Weathergirl, and later News Anchor. It is unclear whether 84 is an affiliate station, or independent. It is most definitely not a Fox station as Bobby tries to unblock the Fox station in the episode Enrique-cilable Differences. It is also previously mentioned by Hank that the only time the Fox station is unblocked is during football season.

Places

  • Rainey Street, the main alleyway of the show
  • Strickland Propane, owned by Buck Strickland and where main character Hank Hill sells "propane and propane accessories."
  • Thatherton Fuels, main rival of Strickland Propane formed by a former Strickland employee named M. F. Thatherton.
  • Mega Lo Mart, A retail store/Parody of Walmart , presumably one of a chain, that has Chuck Mangione as their celebrity spokesman. It is also the place where Buckley died.
  • In & Out, a parody of 7-Eleven.
  • Arlen Barn, popular restaurant famous for meat loaf sandwiches.
  • Arlen First United Methodist Church
  • Hotel Arlen
  • 9 Rivers Country Club, an all-Asian membership club with golfing, swimming pools, cafeterias and lounges, and other athletic sports.
  • Luly's, a buffet restaurant, is a direct parody of Luby's Cafeteria, which is only located in four states (Arizona, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas). The vast majority of the locations are in Texas.
  • Casa Linda Apartments, a series of singles apartments (mostly for singles but families are allowed there). It is where Cotton Hill and his family stayed after they were kicked out of their house in Houston.
  • Whataburger, a real Texas based chain of fast food restaurants that the members of the show eat at, often used as a reward for doing something good.
  • Shiney Pines, a trailer park that Luanne Platter lived in and that was hit by a F5 tornado
  • Goobersmooches - a fictional restaurant based on Fuddrucker's
  • Waffle Hut - Parody of Waffle House
  • Sugarfoot's - A steakhouse owned by the Strickland family, including the Sugarfoot's lunch van that is created when the restaurant is threatened by the brief Trans Fat ban.

Residents


In "Hank's Cowboy Movie", it is disputed whether the residents are called "Arlenians" or "Arlenites." The issue is never precisely resolved, but TV sites that deal with the show prefer "Arlenite."[2][3]

References

  1. ^ Kathryn Shattuck. "It was good to be 'King,' but what now?" The New York Times, April 22, 2009 , page AR22.
  2. ^ TV.com
  3. ^ TV.com
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